David Maas

Writer and Content Producer

David Maas

I cover local politics with a focus on Latino communities in Philadelphia.

FULL BIO

I joined AL DÍA after completing a Master’s in investigative journalism at City, University of London. Originally from Philly, I have also worked as a journalist in Medellin, Colombia for the news outlet, Colombia Reports. Before changing career tracks, I spent 4 years managing projects in Central and South America for a USAID contractor out of Washington, D.C. I graduated from Tufts University in 2012 with a B.A. in international relations.

City Councilman David Oh sat down with AL DÍA to discuss the controversial soda tax, the recently passed Fair Workweek legislation, violence in the city, the opioid crisis, marijuana legalization, Philly's sanctuary city status, and more.

“Serving Latinos is not rocket science, but I can tell you often we put programs in place and we don’t pay attention to whether Latinos are participating or not,” Deborah Santiago told the audience at AL DÍA’s Higher Education Summit.

“Across the commonwealth, we have workers aging out of our workforce, and too often the next generation of worker is not there or doesn’t have the skills to replace them. If we can’t strengthen our workforce, we will fall behind,” Gov. Wolf said.

“We have to show the minority community, Latino community, Hispanic community, everybody, that you can be successful. And what you need is mentorship and leadership and passion and guts, and all that kind of thing,” Roman said.

The plan would raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour by July 1, 2019, and by 50 cents each year thereafter until reaching $15 an hour in 2025. According to the governor’s office, the increase would affect one million workers.

“We cannot afford an under count, so I encourage all residents to get involved and learn more about what they can do to ensure that all Philadelphians participate,” Mayor Kenney said in a press release.

The announcement of the listening tour comes just a month after Gov. Wolf expressed his intention to look more closely into legalizing recreational marijuana during a Twitter question-and-answer session.

Gov. Wolf and Lt. Gov. Fetterman both struck optimistic, forward-looking notes on inauguration day - a stark contrast to the doom and gloom promulgated by the Trump administration, and which won him Pennsylvania in the 2016 presidential election.